Luba Mushtuk
Luba Mushtuk is a Russian-British dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Mushtuk was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. When she was twelve she moved to Italy to dance. She announced on Instagram on November 20, 2023 that she had become a British citizen.Career
Mushtuk is four-time Italian Dance Championship and an Italian Open Latin Show Dance champion. She came in second place in the European 10 Dance Championships and was a finalist at the Latin European Championships.''Strictly Come Dancing''
In 2018, the BBC announced that Mushtuk would join the cast of professional dancers on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing. She won the Children in Need special that year with the Irish singer Shane Lynch. She has also competed in the Christmas Special four times: with Jake Wood in 2018, Jay Blades in 2021, Rickie Haywood-Williams in 2022 and Nicholas Bailey in 2025.In 2019, Mushtuk was partnered with the rower James Cracknell. They were the first couple to be eliminated after losing the first dance-off to David James and Nadiya Bychkova. In 2020, she was partnered with the former NFL player and sports pundit, Jason Bell. They were the second couple to be eliminated after losing the second dance-off to Nicola Adams and Katya Jones.
After 2 years in the dance troupe, she was partnered with the actor Adam Thomas for in 2023. They were the sixth couple to be eliminated after losing the fifth dance-off to Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington. In 2024, she was partnered with TV presenter Nick Knowles They were the third couple to be eliminated after losing the dance off to Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu.
| Series | Partner | Place | Average Score |
| 17 | James Cracknell | 15th | 12.0 |
| 18 | Jason Bell | 11th | 20.3 |
| 21 | Adam Thomas | 9th | 27.3 |
| 22 | Nick Knowles | 13th | 20.0 |
Highest and lowest scoring per dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
| American Smooth | Adam Thomas | 32 | Jason Bell Nick Knowles | 21 |
| Cha-cha-cha | Adam Thomas | 19 | ||
| Charleston | Nick Knowles | 21 | ||
| Couple's Choice | Adam Thomas | 32 | ||
| Jive | Adam Thomas | 26 | James Cracknell | 13 |
| Paso Doble | Jason Bell | |||
| Rumba | Adam Thomas | |||
| Salsa | Jason Bell | 24 | ||
| Tango | Adam Thomas | 23 | James Cracknell | |
| Waltz | Adam Thomas | 32 |
- numbers indicate Luba and her partner were at the bottom of the leaderboard that week.